It's time
by Callisto5
Summary: Life goes on
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer:  I don't own the basic storyline or characters of the Pretender, it's owned by others and I'm not making any money off this.  

Author's note:  The lyrics I've included are not mine.  They belong to the group **Lifehouse**, from their CD 'No Name Face'.  I hope everyone who does me the honor of reading this very short story truly enjoys it.  Thanks! 

**It's time**

**By Callisto**

**_The Centre_**

**_Blue Cove, DE _**

Looking dejectedly out of her office window, Parker was lost in a world of her own.  Holding a thick cocktail glass in one hand, she sipped the amber liquid savoring the bitter, languid essence as it eased down her throat.  The outer grounds were beautiful.  The endless, manicured green of lawn stretching far and wide, giving way only to the sand of the beaches and incessant surf.  She had come to a decision and it hadn't been an easy one.  Still she was resolute and knew that the turning point Jarod had been talking about so many months ago in the back of the limo had come back to haunt her again.  Unlike the philosopher who had once said an opportunity once missed could never be repeated, in her case, it seemed as though she were being revisited by the dissatisfied ghosts of her own life.

"It's hotter than hell outside.  What are you doing?  Dreaming up devious ways to beat me to the prize?" Lyle asked.  His voice jarred her unpleasantly from her reverie, while his reference reminded her of the aching band of pain squeezing at her brain.  Lyle had a near miss in capturing Jarod.  Their competition had gotten heated, resulting in the twins spending more time thwarting each other's efforts rather than capturing the wily Pretender. 

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Parker responded wearily, slurring her words slightly.

"Hey, you should show down on that stuff.  I realize it's after 4 in the afternoon but getting sloshed because I almost caught him won't anesthetize you from Raines' wrath once I bring in Wonderboy," he replied cheerfully.  Noticing that she either wasn't in the mood or her thoughts had strayed to the past again, Lyle knew he wouldn't be getting a response from her anytime soon.  Shrugging, the sociopath left his twin in peace.  With a spring in his step, Lyle quickly turned towards his office.  The hunt for Jarod would begin again tomorrow, for now he was determined to enjoy the rest of the evening.  He smiled happily as he thought about his latest companion and the plans he had for her. 

Parker shivered involuntarily.  Lyle was giving her the creeps more each day as her 'gift' continued to develop and intrude on her life.  A deep sigh escaped her lips as she turned in her chair and dropped her drunk act.  Reaching out she grabbed a slip of paper and wrote a quick note for Sam and a team of sweepers to rescue the young Asian woman Lyle planned on bringing home tonight.  This marked the last time she would keep her sick twin from torturing another blameless soul.

Turning from the note she started typing brief e-mails to Broots and Sydney.  Once that was done, she quickly got up and headed for the door, leaving her office neat and tidy as she usually did at the end of the day.  It would be important for no one to notice anything different.

Instead of driving directly home, she took a circuitous route to a restaurant outside of town which had become a favorite.  The chef was an ally who allowed her to stash in his office a duffle full of clothing she had recently brought.  She sat at her usual table and ordered her usual meal, allowing the sweepers in charge of following her to be lulled into a false sense of security in knowing how the evening should end.  In the middle of the meal, she got up to go to the rest room.  Inside she changed into some very casual clothing and eased cautiously across the hall into the back office, careful to avoid being spotted by a curious sweeper.  There she stuffed her Centre outfit in her duffle, gathered both duffle and a knapsack, left a couple hundred-dollar bills, grabbed the head chef's car keys and turning off the office lights, slipped unnoticed out of the back window.  By the time the sweepers became concerned she was already pulling out of the parking lot wearing a blonde wig and chewing dramatically on some bubble gum.

**_Department of Motor Vehicles _**

**_Phoenix, AZ_**

He watched with some amusement as the last of the proctors left for the day.  As a group, they were a great bunch to work with and he had to commend them for their bravery.  The latest teenager who left unhappily after being failed for the second time was clearly a danger to himself and others.  The proctor who had been administering the test, got out of the vehicle shakily, his complexion deathly pale, as clammy sweat soaked his shirt.

Jarod had just recorded the latest results and put a serious dent in the large mound of paperwork on his desk when another colleague walked up holding a small package. 

"Hey, Ford, this came for you.  The lady said to give this to you when you weren't busy, I tried to get her to give it to you earlier but she insisted," the supervisor informed him. 

"Really?  Did she give her name?" Jarod asked as his curiosity was piqued.  

"Actually, she said that you would know once you opened it but I wouldn't take it until she told me who she was.  Said her name was Miss Parker and that she was a childhood friend of yours."  

Jarod had to struggle for several seconds to control the alarm that clouded his mind.  Forcibly relaxing, he took the offered package and stared at it as though it were poisonous.  The supervisor saw Jarod's usual friendly demeanor become suddenly fearful and apprehensive. 

"Is something wrong? Do you want me to call the cops?" he asked Jarod with heightened unease.    

Recalling himself, Jarod forced a smile on his face and dismissed the offer.  "No, Gus, that's quite alright.  I think I know who it is now but tell me was anyone else with her?  Perhaps an older man with a foreign accent or a short balding man?" 

"No, buddy, she was all by herself and from what I could tell, she is quite a looker.  You know the type, long legs, smooth skin, high maintenance and wanting absolutely nothing to do with me," Gus replied with wry humor.  "I kept hoping she would take those sunglasses off but she never did, just gave me a big grin that made my insides feel all hollow."

Smiling at his friend's description of his personal huntress, Jarod chuckled appreciatively.  Casually he asked his next question as he slowly undid the plain brown wrapping.  "When did she come by?" 

"Geez, that was before lunch.  I would have given it to you then but I had to go out and fail some pimple-faced smart ass who lied and said she knows how to drive.  Kids these days!" 

"Thanks Gus", Jarod replied as he extracted a plain CD in an unadorned jewel case.

"What the heck?  Hey, there's writing on the back."  

Turning the case around, Jarod read Miss Parker's note in her neat handwriting. 

'It's time for me to let go.  Take care of yourself, Genius

—MP'

Gus, being adept at reading upside down, glanced at the message and sympathy flooded his face.  The woman had been downright beautiful and poor guy Jarod apparently had lost her.  He looked away from Jarod in his empathy.

"Come on, Jarod.  Let's go get a drink, I insist," Gus said quietly. 

Jarod got up and absently walked outside with his friend.  He waited while Gus locked up the office, using the time to think up a plausible excuse to listen to the CD Parker had left for him.  The second he read her message, his heart told him that it wasn't a trick and she wouldn't be outside with a team of sweepers ready to return him to the Centre. 

"Gus, I need to listen to this alone.  Thanks for the offer of a drink, perhaps later I can take you up on that?" 

"Sure, I understand.  If you need someone to talk to, I'm here.  I've been dumped by plenty of women in my heyday," Gus said with a chuckle.  With a keen look at Jarod's face to make sure his co-worker was alright, Gus sauntered over to his beat-up Corolla, shaking his head that a fella as good-looking as Jarod also suffered the same disappointments from the opposite sex. 

Jarod, with eager curiosity, quickly got into his worn pickup truck and quickly started it.  However, he could only wait until they were leaving the parking lot before opening the jewel case and sliding the disc in the new CD player he had installed the minute he brought the truck.  Immediately, an electric guitar started playing and the performer began harmonizing his solemn tune.  It was the singer's words which forced him to pull over and listen. 

_This doubt is screaming in my face,_

_In this familiar place, sheltered and concealed _

_And if this night won't let me rest, _

_Don't let me second guess what I know to be real. _

_Put away all that I know for tonight and maybe _

_I just might learn to let it go._

_Take my security from me and maybe _

_finally I won't have to know everything._

_I am falling into grace, to the unknown to where you are_

_And faith makes everybody scared,_

_It's the unknown, the don't-know_

_that keeps me hanging on to you. _

_I got nothing left to defend, I cannot pretend  _

_That everything makes sense but does it really matter now _

_If I do not know how to figure this thing out_

_I am against myself again, trying to fit these pieces in _

_Walking on a cloud of dust to get to you._      

The CD contained only this one song, nothing more.  Jarod stabbed his index finger on the replay button and the music began again.  He listened to the words of the entire song several more times while a few things began to make sense.  She knew where he was and how to find him.  He reviewed in his mind all the precautions and blind trails he had set up to elude the Centre when it hit him.  Her inner sense must have guided her this time.  Only instead of capturing him in triumph, she had been saddled with an unknown side effect of her gift.  Realization that capturing him wasn't going to answer any questions and her interest in the answers had left a bad taste in her mouth.  Jarod sat back in his truck and stared into the night.  An important part of his life had finally seen the light and left the scene.  

He thought about Sydney and how he was taking Parker's departure.  Jarod decided to wait a couple days before contacting his mentor at the Centre and asking his opinion, leaving them with the relief that despite Parker's absence, he would continue to keep in touch.  In reality, he would start searching for her.  He had some ideas of his own and right now, she was starting to figure quite prominently in them.  All the tools he needed were currently at his fingertips.  There was Ethan to help him find his mother and now Parker, the girl who had given him his first kiss, acting like a human again.  

Jarod reached behind the passenger seat and retrieved his laptop case.  He connected the laptop to his cell phone and the cigarette lighter and immediately checked into Parker's bank accounts.  They were still robust but the personal trust account from her parents had been drained dry.  He began running a trace program he had devised on her off-shore bank accounts and found her fairly easily.  He did some double-checking to confirm his findings then erased the subtle electronic footprints she had inadvertently left behind.  Her strategy was excellent, but not good enough to keep Broots in the dark—Jarod took care of that. 

Smiling, Jarod turned his truck around and headed towards the nearest airport.  He was suddenly in the mood for dropping in on an old friend and returning a long overdue kiss.

~Fin~ 


	2. Sequel

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything but my own twisted imagination. 

Author's note:  I wrote this sequel for those of you who asked for it.  Thank you! 

**It's time**

**Sequel chapter**

**By Callisto**

**_The Centre  _**

**_Blue Cove, DE_**

Lyle was upset.  Actually he was livid.  It started with Sam and a group of muscle-bound sweepers hijacking his carefully drugged dinner companion from his custody.  Despite Lyle's threats, Sam ordered the men to separate the pair.  Just as the group was leaving with his entertainment, Sam paused and said with smug solemnity that he was acting on orders from Miss Parker.  With that the doors of the black Lincoln Town car slammed shut and sped off into the night.

The second and third affront occurred the next morning when Lyle arrived at the Centre.  Before he had a chance to even sit down in his office chair, he was summoned into Raines' chairman office.  The cold stare from the Centre's newest chairman was more chilling than a winter's Artic breeze.  Apparently, Parker had also ordered Sam to file an official report of his nighttime rescue, complete with a toxicology report from a blood sample the sweeper obtained from the drugged woman.  Raines informed Lyle in no uncertain terms that his sadistic playtime activities would be curtailed until further notice.  The chairman didn't want to draw any undue attention from the Triumvirate, especially in light of Miss Parker's disappearance.

As several ideas of how to exact his vengeance against his evil twin flickered tantalizingly through his head, Raines' last statement caught Lyle completely off guard.  In addition to being embarrassed and irked by his twin's hubris, she had the temerity of taking off and not facing the music of his wrath.  Lyle barely paid any attention to Raines as he droned on about the effects of Parker's absence on the daily operations.  In his own anger, not once did Lyle question how his twin knew when and where to have her sweepers show up to rescue the girl.  The second Raines appeared as though he were done lecturing, Lyle smoothed a shark-like smile over his sensuous lips and left with the tattered shreds of his dignity dragging behind him like a limping Igor.  Instead of returning to his own office, he headed directly to the sim-lab where Jarod's pursuit team, Parker's cohorts, were usually gathered. 

Lyle questioned both Sydney and Broots for over an hour, threatening to convene a T-board if they weren't more forthcoming.  Both men pled ignorance in knowing anything about Parker's escape.  Something in their depressed demeanor caused him to believe them.  Turning abruptly, Lyle was on the brink of leaving them in peace when he turned around again.  

"Broots, shake down Parker's computer.  I want to know every site she visited and anyone she talked to on that thing.  I also want a list of every e-mail she sent in the past month and the luds from her cell phone both incoming and outgoing calls.  Sis didn't hatch this little plan of hers in a day, however I want the results from you by tonight, no excuses Broots."  

Before Broots could answer him, Lyle walked out of the sim-lab.  Broots turned his somber gaze on Sydney and then nervously looked away.  He was about to comment that Miss Parker rarely did any personal business on her computer.  After all the forays she had ordered him to commit in order to uncover the various nefarious deeds of their now Chairman, Parker knew better.

Sydney, slightly misread his nervous friend's expression.  "I know Broots, she left an e-mail to me as well.  I don't see how we'll be able to hide this from either Raines or Lyle.  I believe it was something Parker had already anticipated, though I would have preferred her telling me face to face rather than by e-mail."

"What do you think will happen to us?" Broots asked apprehensively.  

"We, my friend, will survive.  For the moment, it would be best for us to continue on as before.  I'll see if perhaps Angelo can supply some ideas on where Parker might be and if she is alright," Sydney replied quietly.  He was deeply affected by Parker's sudden absence and the fact that she had failed to say good-bye in person.   

**_Amtrak station _**

**_Dallas, TX_**

Fatigue was beginning to gnaw at her from all directions.  Fortunately, for the first time in over at least a decade, she felt satisfaction accompanying her weariness.  The trip had been very productive and she had learned a great deal from an old friend who was unknown by anyone from her past and who knew none of her prior associates.  At first it seemed as though she were the one asking all the questions, becoming a student once again.  But after they met with the garment manufacturer, everything changed as both her business sense and linguistic abilities took over.  Now, as she lingered in the cavernous waiting area adjacent to the platform, she settled back in the uncomfortable seat and allowed a tiny smile to escape her lips.  After a couple weeks of floundering around, she found something that interested her on a level she had never before experienced.  To make matters even better, this newest endeavor was all hers:  it belonged to no one else, was conceived through her imagination alone, owed its existence to no one but her and the seeds of its humble beginnings could never be snatched away by an ungrateful hand.  She heaved a heavy sigh and forcibly controlled her impatience for the train to arrive and the last leg of her trip to begin.  

He watched from a distance as she tried unsuccessfully to wait patiently for the train to arrive.  This had been one of the strangest trips he had ever taken and was itching with curiosity to find out her purpose.  He silently applauded her caution although her thoroughness almost caused him to lose her. 

Finding out which city she had settled in took less than 5 minutes.  It took several days to find out exactly where she was living.  Once he found her, he immediately rented a nearby apartment and set about following her to get a better feel for where she was emotionally and mentally.  At first glance, it appeared as though she were allowing herself to sink into depression and paranoia—something he knew too much about.  Then, inexplicably, she perked up and took a short trip.  Having grown accustomed to her ways while she was chasing him, Jarod found it was quite a different matter to follow her.  Now, despite his weariness, he had dozens of questions demanding answers.

Once they boarded the late arriving train, Jarod settled down to relax and enjoy the ride.  His quarry, still too keyed up from excitement pulled out a small sketchpad and began to doodle. 

**_Parker residence_**

**_Tacoma, WA_**

The house was unusually quiet when she finally entered.  Looking around cautiously, she remained still and just listened to the quiet.  With a subtle shrug, she turned and keyed in the abort code for the alarm and automatically reset it.  A deep yawn came out as she abandoned her luggage just inside the doorway and walked into the spacious kitchen.  It was while she was heating the water for a cup of tea that she heard a noise.  Her heart constricted as her mind instantly turned to her ingrained Centre training.  She took a few steps towards the china cabinet for her weapon when a deep, sardonic voice stopped her. 

"I've been wondering where you hid your pesky 9mm friend.  Mind sharing the secret?" 

The sound of his voice dredged up a surprisingly resilient resentment as she whirled around to face the ever elusive Pretender.  "What the _hell_ are you doing here?" she asked heatedly.  

"Looking in on an old friend.  I thought you might need a few tips on how to stay a step or two ahead of the Centre," he answered quietly.  Parker knew the smile in his voice wasn't her imagination.

"I'm sure you've already checked the entire neighborhood.  Not one sweeper and absolutely no direct clients of the Centre live in or around the surrounding area," she replied with hollow ire.  The resentment she harbored towards Jarod waned as her alarm began to fade.  Her dislike of him was a learned response, without Centre prompting the emotion dissipated faster than her so-called family. 

Ignoring her comment, Jarod said, "You're looking well, Miss Parker.  Life away from the Centre seems to be agreeing with you."  He stared at her appreciatively, admiring from head to toe how well she kept herself.   

She had returned to the kitchen and pointedly ignoring her unexpected guest, set about finishing her tea.  Once she was settled in her seat, she looked up to find Jarod staring at her with a great deal of interest.  Arching a well-shaped eyebrow, she nodded at the kettle as an invitation for him to join her.  In heavy silence, he finished the brief task and sat across the table from her, gingerly testing the heat of his beverage. 

"At the risk of sounding redundant, why are you here?" she asked again with greatly improved manners.  

"As I said, checking on you.  I have a few things I wanted to discuss with you and a few thousand questions I doubt you're going to answer," he answered wryly. 

"I've never needed anyone to check on me, Jarod," she began with irritation showing in her voice.  Calming herself, she acknowledged silently to herself that she was glad he would spare even an iota of his usual generosity on her.  "What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"Several things, the most pressing is Ethan.  He found me a month after I returned from Carthis.  I tried to get him to live with my family but he didn't seem to be very comfortable around us.  Now, he's living on his own and not faring too well.  I was hoping perhaps you would let him stay with you for a while, since you're finally away from the Centre."  

"If he didn't get along with your family, I doubt he'll have much success with me," she replied sharply with incredulity lacing her words.  The set look on Jarod's face made her sit all the way back in the chair and concede graciously.  "My door is always open to Ethan, you know that." 

Jarod nodded his thanks and resumed sipping his tea.  After a minute or two of silence, an involuntary yawn escaped from Parker.  "Look, Jarod.  I've had a long day.  I'm exhausted, extremely irritable and will probably end up taking something just to get some sleep.  How about we resume this talk of ours tomorrow?"

Her comment caused Jarod to slightly frown.  "Are you still taking that medication you got from the Centre?" 

"No.  I flushed it down the toilet months ago.  Now all I do is toss and turn au natural.  If I'm lucky, I'll get a few hours sleep in before I wake up for no good reason.  So how about it?" she asked with a ghost of a smile.

Jarod grinned back at her and gulping down the remnants of his tea, he left the house, accurately keying in the alarm disable code before leaving.  Parker shrugged and tiredly went to bed.

The next morning, she got up, showered and wearily walked into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.  When she entered, she was slightly surprised not to see Jarod already there smirking and bright-eyed.  Almost with her eyes closed, she made some coffee and started her day.  An hour later, she felt a presence behind her and turning found Jarod lounging on the couch in the other room, watching her keenly.  Curiously, she became self-conscious and looking back at her work, decided to take a break while he was there.

"How's Sydney doing?" she asked without preamble settling in the inviting club chair opposite the couch. 

"He misses you more than he's willing to admit.  I suspect Broots is in the same condition but less careful about revealing his attachment to you," Jarod said quietly, his scrutiny never wavering for a second. 

Deciding on letting him get away with his staring for a few minutes longer, Parker said, "They must be relieved that you are still playing the game.  Did Sydney say anything about Lyle or Raines?  Are they threatening him?" 

"I would be surprised if they weren't but actually all we discussed was you," Jarod answered. 

"Stop staring.  What do you want from me?" she asked with exasperation. 

"I've contacted Ethan and told him that you're away from the Centre and eager to see him.  He should be here tomorrow or the day after.  Why were you in Hong Kong two days ago?" he asked abruptly.

"You followed me," she replied flatly.  "This inner-sense isn't doing me much good, is it?"  Already knowing that avoiding his question would result in yet another, she answered him.  "I went there to find a contact in the garment industry so I can get a line of clothing I've designed made.  An old associate of mine came along as a sort of guide.  No, I don't want to show you any of my drawings and yes, I've taken the necessary precautions to keep the Centre from finding me." 

"I already looked at your drawings earlier this morning while I was waiting for you to wake up.  They are very good but I must admit they are quite different from what I expected," he said frankly. 

"Your stamp of approval, my day is complete, my life justified," she grumbled irritably, effectively covering her pleasure in his approbation.

"The technical details are intriguing.  How do you plan on making the rugged outerwear reasonably warm for your clients if you cut the weight of the fabric?  There are several other manufacturers in the market now with similar clothing, how are you going to make your clothing stand out from an already crowded field?"  

She began telling him her ideas and the reasoning behind them.  As she spoke, her expression became less guarded and her manner more engaging as she discussed her strategy.  Jarod relaxed and listened, though he was more intrigued by the animated look in her eyes and the ease in which they slipped into the roles they had forged together as childhood friends. 

Parker had been speaking practically non-stop for almost an hour when she finally caught herself.  Jarod was still staring at her but his expression had steadily changed from vague attraction to downright desire.  The interest he held for her in his face and eyes caught her a little off guard.  In mid-conversation, she stopped talking and rose from the edge of her chair where she had been eagerly perched.  She was on the brink of entering the kitchen when Jarod smoothly rose also and cut off her avenue of escape. 

"Where are you going?  You were telling me about this new insulating material a laid-off scientist from 3M had developed when you just get up and run away.  Why?" he asked staring into her eyes as though she were hiding something important there. 

"You looked like your eyes were beginning to glaze over," she replied as her own attraction to him began to reassert itself.

"You know I wasn't bored," he countered tenderly as his fingers lightly touched her hair.  "Every time I'm near you like this, with you cut off from the Centre, I feel a connection between us.  It's something that we should explore," he said quietly as he moved in with perfect timing and began kissing her.  He kissed her fully on the lips and slipping his arm around her continued kissing her fervently, thoroughly expressing his interest and desire.  He pulled away from her mouth and stared again into her surprised eyes.  She opened her mouth a couple times but no sound came out.

"I owed you that kiss," he said quietly.  The flabbergasted expression on her face would have made him want to laugh if he weren't so intent on continuing the kiss.  He enjoyed the way she felt and even tasted and waited patiently to see if she would say anything.  His patience ran out in 5 seconds, about the time her mind finally supplied her with a response, she opened her mouth to find herself engaged in another kiss.  This time she participated more than previously, as her own curiosity and desire took over.  She kissed him back like a thirsty, dirt-choked desert traveler plunges into a pond of crystal cool water.  When they finally separated, Parker was out of breath and Jarod was thrilled.  The connection he had always felt with her was stronger than ever.  Jarod was still holding her in his arms when she broke from his embrace.  

"Perhaps that is as far as we should let this go.  We've been enemies longer than we were ever friends.  And I've stopped believing in second chances," she said quietly and stepped around him into the kitchen. 

"If I had stopped believing in second chances, I would have happily retuned to the Centre years ago.  Perhaps you shouldn't look at this as a second chance but revisiting the first chance we were both denied as kids."

"Is that why you tracked me down?  To see if a relationship would work between us?  I thought you would hate me enough to just be happy that I was finally out of your life.  When I left that CD for you, that's what I was trying to tell you," she said carefully. 

"I know but I want more than that from you.  I want to know what it was they were so afraid of that they felt it necessary to separate us.  If we had been allowed to stay together, there would have been untold advantages for them, including my acquiescence to anything they wanted in order to stay with you." 

"You've said it yourself, they wanted control.  No one ever said that our handlers were geniuses, they just expected us to be," she replied bitterly. 

"Yes.  But they knew I was a pretender and knew you held the gene…" he started, knowing she would understand his train of thought.  

There was a heavy pause as Parker processed this information.  Then slowly she leaned against the kitchen counter and repeated without turning to look at him, "What do you want from me, Jarod?"  

"You," he replied simply. 

"I've been hurt so many times, I don't know if I could handle it again."

"You're as curious about this as I am.  Perhaps we'll discover what was so frightening to them, maybe not but at least for the time being we can help each other with our loneliness," he said determinedly as he walked up behind her, lightly grasped her shoulders and pulled her flush against his body.  She was tense when he touched her, then relaxed against him.  Jarod embraced her and heaved a deep sigh of relief.  

Parker leaned into his body, enjoying the feel of him.  It had been a long time between lovers and she knew right now her emotions were stronger than her resolve.  An unconscious sigh came out of her as she thought about how much she would be disappointing her 'father' if he could see her now.  A shaky, grim smile formed on her lips as she thought about her freedom from her father's emotional tyranny.  Perhaps, without interference from the Centre, she and Jarod could actually forge a lasting relationship.  It was at least worth a try and loneliness had been taking a heavy toll on her.  Slowly she freed her arms from his embrace and rewrapping his arms around her waist, lightly caressed him, shamelessly enjoying the sensation.  She wondered idly if Lyle had yet experienced the _other_ surprise she had waiting for him.  She was done preventing him from harming more innocent victims but she wasn't quite done with him.

Jarod smiled and rested his face in her hair.  He was hoping Ethan was correct and that this would be a liaison that would last the rest of their lives.    

~Fin~  Really, this time, no more chapters for this story!! The rest I leave in the reader's ample imagination.         


End file.
